Five Detroit Lions players to watch in preseason game against Cleveland Browns

AP PhotoWide receiver Matt Willis had a stellar performance in the Detroit Lions' preseason-opening victory over the Jets.

The Detroit Lions travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns Thursday night in the second preseason game for both teams.

Here are five Lions players to keep a close eye on during the contest.

DE Ezekiel Ansah
Detroit's first-round draft pick electrified the Ford Field crowd in the Lions' 26-17 win over the New York Jets last Friday, intercepting Mark Sanchez's errant screen pass attempt and returning it 14 yards for a touchdown.

Ansah also shed the block of former Pro Bowl left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson to drop Jets running back Bilal Powell for a two-yard loss.

The rookie will face another stiff test against three-time All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas. If Ansah manages to make a couple more plays, expectations could balloon for the Ghana native.

OT Riley Reiff
Detroit's new left tackle struggled against the Jets, getting beat twice by an edge rusher, resulting in a sack and a holding penalty.

Like New York, the Browns run a 3-4 defensive scheme, with ultra-athletic rookie linebacker Barkevious Mingo rushing from the right side. He got to the quarterback three times in Cleveland's preseason opener, tallying a pair of hits and having a sack negated after the Browns accepted a penalty on the play.

Reiff will have his hands full and it will be good to see how he handles Mingo's speed.

CB Darius Slay
Slay got plenty of playing time in the opener, but didn't see a lot of action in his direction. Despite working 28 snaps, he wasn't targeted once by the Jets. Generally that's a good sign, but it's important to see how he plays the ball in the air.

Slay did blitz once, late in the first quarter, rushing a Sanchez throw on a play that resulted in a short loss, but otherwise the rookie corner didn't appear on the stat sheet.

The second-round pick out of Mississippi State is very much in the mix to start for the Lions when they open the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings. He'll need to continue to string together strong performances in the preseason to beat out veteran Ron Bartell for the job.

LB Tahir Whitehead
Whitehead is also locked in a battle for a starting job, but is firmly behind veteran Ashlee Palmer in the competition to be the right outside linebacker.

Whitehead played 24 snaps against the Jets, making two tackles in space, but a blown coverage assignment was his most noticeable moment in the game.

On a throw to Kellen Winslow, Whitehead lunged for the ball and came up empty. That decision took him out of the play and allowed the tight end to rumble for 24 yards on what should have been a five-yard gain.

The margin for error is slim for the second-year pro out of Temple. He can't afford costly errors in coverage or missed tackles if he wants to beat out Palmer.

WR Matt Willis
With Patrick Edwards failing to register a reception against the Jets, Willis enhanced his chances of making Detroit's roster with a stellar three-catch performance that included a diving, 15-yard touchdown grab.

Willis is a five-year veteran who is best known for his special teams contributions. His best offensive season came in 2011, when he caught 18 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown. Basically, there's not a history of production.

But Willis has had as strong camp in Detroit to go with the promising preseason debut. Can he continue to build his case against Cleveland, or will he slide back behind some of the other contenders for the fourth and fifth receiving spots?